Voters defy Pak firing,
militants45 to 61 pc polling in JammuJammu, February 21Neither the intermittent Pakistani
firing nor the panic caused by militants affected polling in the Jammu Lok
Sabha constituency where a large number of voters turned up to exercise
their franchise today. The polling percentage in the hilly and border areas
was higher than the plains, especially in the three Assembly segments of
this constituency.
In video
(28k, 56k)

UP
records 55 pc pollingNew Delhi, February 21Barring a few minor incidents the final
phase of Assembly elections in UP and Manipur for 166 seats and 20 seats,
respectively, passed off peacefully today, the Election Commission said.In video (28k, 56k)

Yamunanagar
poll peacefulOppn concedes it as 70 pc voters turn
upYamunanagar, February 21The ruling INLD today belied all
Opposition apprehensions regarding violence and bungling in the Yamunanagar
Assembly byelection. The polling here today was so peaceful that even
Opposition leaders conceded it on record.

A burqa-clad woman comes out of the Hameeda polling station after casting her vote during the Yamunanagar byelection on Thursday.
— Tribune photo Pankaj Sharma

Vajpayee denies Oppn
chargeNew Delhi, February 21Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today
regretted that his words were distorted to make it appear as if the BJP did
not need the Muslim vote. “It is unfortunate,” Mr Vajpayee stated, “that
the level of political discourse in our country has dipped so low as to be
devoid of even elementary concern for facts.

Govt
mulls new tax slabMay do away with exemptionsNew Delhi, February 21The government is actively
contemplating increasing standard deduction, slapping higher taxes on the
affluent class and doing away with exemptions on savings instruments.

Edit pageFRANKLY
SPEAKING: Economic
growth & welfare of poorHari JaisinghWill
the Budget slated to be presented by Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha
on February 28 be people-friendly? It will be difficult to give a straight
answer to this hypothetical question. Even democratically elected
governments these days are hardly in tune with the hopes and aspirations of
the common man.

USA, China play
down differencesBeijing, February 21China and the USA today downplayed
their differences on the Taiwan issue even as President George W. Bush
asked Beijing to help stop proliferation of missiles and other deadly
technologies.

WHO
likely to receive plague report todayNew Delhi, February 21The Health Ministry is expected to
submit its report on plague to the office of the WHO representative to
India, Dr Robert Kim-Farley, here tomorrow. This was stated by the WHO
representative here today.